Determination of Inorganic Ions in Fertilizer Industry Wastewater by Ion Chromatography

The aim of this work is development of methodology for analysis of inorganic cations (sodium, ammonium, potassium, magnesium and calcium) in fertilizer industry wastewater. Method development includes optimization of eluent flow rate and concentration of eluent competing ion in order to obtain optimal separation within reasonable analysis time. For that purpose artificial neural network retention model was developed and used in combination with normalized resolution product criteria function. Developed artificial neural network retention model shows good predictive ability R² ≥ 0.9983. The determined ion chromatographic parameters enable baseline separation of all components of interest. By performing validation procedure and number of statistical tests it is shown that developed ion chromatographic method has superior performance characteristic: linearity R² ≥ 0.9984, recovery = 99.81% − 99.44%, repeatability RSD ≤ 0.52%. That result proves that proposed method can be used for routine monitoring analysis in fertilizer industry.     

Closed tube sample introduction for gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry analysis of water contaminated with a chemical warfare agent surrogate compound

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is a proven technology for detection of vapor phase chemical warfare agents. The technology is suitable for field portable instrumentation due to its small size, high sensitivity, speed of analysis, and low power consumption. However, it suffers from a limited dynamic range and potential difficulties in identifying compounds in complex matrices. The use of gas chromatography (GC) coupled to IMS can overcome the difficulty of chemical identification in mixtures by separating the sample into individual components before detection. Using this approach, IMS technology has previously been adapted to detect biological aerosols using an open tube pyrolyzer and a short GC column (Py-GC-IMS). The open sample introduction tube of a Py-GC-IMS instrument would be a convenient configuration to accept aerosol particulates, and while viewed as needed for aerosol trapping, is not optimal for liquid chemical analyses. To examine the usefulness of an existing Py-GC-IMS system for analysis of chemicals in water, an existing open-port sample interface was replaced with a septum-equipped closed tube injector to contain analyte vapors resulting from liquid injection. Tributylphosphate (TBP) was used as a surrogate chemical warfare agent, and aqueous injections into both closed and open tube assemblies were performed. Sample introduction into the closed tube inlet was also accomplished using solid phase microextraction (SPME) preconcentration. The limit of detection for TBP using an open tube, closed tube, and closed tube configuration with SPME sample introduction was 0.980, 0.196, and 0.0098 mg/L, respectively.     

Determination of various deformation processes in impact-modified PMMA at strain rates up to 105%/min

The deformation processes in impact-modified PMMA, which deforms homogeneously, were determined by means of the stress/strain experiment (, ) with simultaneous lateral strain measurement (_lat) in a wide range of strain rates () up to 10⁵%/min (impact stress). The elastic, plastic cavitation and plastic shear processes were determined as a function of strain. Therefore we calculated the elastic strain ( _el), the elastic volume expansion ( _{vol el}), the cavitation strain ( _cav), which is identical with the plastic volume expansion ( _{vol pl}), the shear strain ( _sh) and the energy densities (W_el, W_cav, W_sh) related to these three processes.For strains of 3 % onward it was found that plastic shear processes and plastic cavitation processes are responsible for a partial loss of elastically stored energy. Both plastic processes turn out to be mostly anelastic deformations, their amount depending strongly on the strain rate. The contributions of the processes to the total deformation of the unmodified PMMA in its strain range are similar to those of the impact-modified PMMA, and the high impact strength is caused by a shift of the catastrophic rupture to very high strains.     

Liquefaction of corn stover and preparation of polyester from the liquefied polyol

This research investigated a novel process to prepare polyester from corn stover through liquefaction and crosslinking processes. First, corn stover was liquefied in organic solvents (90 wt% ethylene glycol and 10 wt% ethylene carbonate) with catalysts at moderate temperature under atmospheric pressure. The effect of liquefaction temperature, biomass content, and type of catalyst, such H₂SO₄, HCl, H₃PO₄, and ZnCl₂, was evaluated. Higher liquefaction yield was achieved in 2 wt% sulfuric acid, 1/4 (w/w) stover to liquefying reagent ratio; 160°C temperature, in 2h. The liquefied corn stover was rich in polyols, which can be directly used as feedstock for making polymers without further separation or purification. Second, polyester was made from the liquefied corn stover by crosslinking with multifunctional carboxylic acids and/or cyclic acid anhydrides. The tensile strength of polyester is about 5 MPa and the elongation is around 35%. The polyester is stable in cold water and organic solvents and readily biodegradable as indicated by 82% weight loss when buried in damp soil for 10 mo. The results indicate that this novel polyester could be used for the biodegradable garden mulch film production.     

Conductivities and silver electrode polarization resistance of solid electrolyte ceramics from ZrO2-Y2O3 powder synthesized in air plasma

Ceramic specimens have been obtained from the powder of ZrO₂-7.5 mol% Y₂O₃ having a specific surface area of 30 m²/g synthesized in air plasma. The novelty of this research lies in the fact that the plasma process makes it possible to prepare so-called nanopowders with a particle size less than 100 nm, possessing specific physical, chemical and technological properties. The sintered density of the specimens was 94–96% of the theoretical value, 6.001 g/cm³. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the specimens corresponded to a face-centered cubic lattice. Impedance in the frequency range of 100 Hz–15 MHz and d.c. polarization curves in a potential range of −10 to 10 mV were measured in the temperature range 200–850 °C in heating and cooling cycles. The intragrain, the grain boundary and the total bulk conductivities, the electrode polarization resistance and their activation energies were determined. The thermal stability of the studied system was proved in three measurement series up to 600–850 °C in heating and cooling cycles. The results obtained have shown that the conductivity of ZrO₂-7.5 mol% Y₂O₃ ceramics is not solely a function of temperature, but also depends on the previous thermal state of the ceramics. Received: 16 October 1997 / Accepted: 19 January 1998     

Mixed hybrid bilayer lipid membrane incorporating valinomycin: improvements in preparation and functioning

The paper deals with the reconstruction of lipid bilayer membranes on a Au-covered polycarbonate membrane. Such a kind of like-biomembranes (namely mixed hybrid bilayer lipid membrane (MHBLM)) are characterised by appreciable long-term stability. Here we describe changes that have been made in the geometry of the experimental device in order to avoid artefacts and render membrane reproduction easier. Incorporation of valinomycin was performed to check the membrane and its stability: conductance and membrane potential following the changes of ion concentration were recorded. This new approach permits increase of successful trials and renders possible, when it breaks, easily formation of a new MHBLM on the same Au-covered polycarbonate membrane support. Finally, the stability shown by the MHBLM renders this system a promising tool for use under flowing conditions.     

Characterization of fibril reinforced membranes for fuel cells

Characteristics of fibril reinforced membranes developed by Asahi Glass Company are reviewed. PTFE-fibrils <1 μm in diameter are dispersed in ion-exchange membranes uniformly. Mechanical properties, such as tensile strength, tear strength, creep property and compressive property were examined and compared with non-reinforced membranes. Fibril reinforced membranes, even by the addition of a small amount of PTFE-fibrils (2.7 wt.%), show excellent mechanical strength, especially in creep and tear strength. Cell performance is nearly equal to the one using a non-reinforced membrane and cell voltage stays about the same during the cell operation at 80 °C for 3000 h.     

锂离子选择性微电极在生物体液中的响应

最近几年已报道了几种锂离子选择性电极.本文作者曾研制了以苯基膦酸二辛酯(DOPP)为溶剂,四苯硼酸盐为活性物质的PVC膜锂离子选择电极.本文在此基础上研制了锂离子选择性微电极,比较了以四苯硼酸钾(KTPB)及四苯硼酸钠(NaTPB)为活性物质的锂微电极的性能.同时考察了微电极在细胞内液、血清及生理盐液中对锂离子的响应特性.     

Phosphate-selective electrodes containing immobilised ionophores

Phosphate selective electrodes have been produced based upon rubbery membranes containing heterocylic macrocycles as sensors covalently bound to a cross-linked polystyrene-block–polybutadiene-block–polystyrene (SBS) polymer. The membranes were robust and the best HPO₄²⁻-selective membrane fabricated was composed of 7.1% (m/m) dicumyl peroxide, 28.3% (m/m) 2-nitrophenyloctylether, 9.8% (m/m) 3-(10-undecenyl)-1,5,8-triazacyclodecane-2,4-dione, 31.0% (m/m) SBS and 23.8% (m/m) PoleStar™ 200R (clay-based filler). The characteristics of this electrode were a linear Nernstian range of 3.9×10⁻³ to 1×10⁻⁶ mol dm⁻³ HPO₄²⁻ with a limit of detection of 1.0×10⁻⁶ mol dm⁻³ HPO₄²⁻, a slope of −29.7±0.9 mV per activity decade and a pH range from 6 to 8. Selectivity coefficients for phosphate against various interfering anions (chloride, sulfate and nitrate) were determined. Response times were 2 min or under, stability of response and electrode lifetime in continuous use were also very satisfactory. The response behavior of HPO₄²⁻-ISEs based upon mobile and bound ionophores was comparable and suggests that mobility of the ionophore is not necessary to obtain a working ISE and that covalent binding of ionophores can be used to produce ISEs of increased stability and robustness.